As California crumbles, so do other states | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

As California crumbles, so do other states | delawareonline.com | The News Journal:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. — State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is playing Scrooge, admonishing Capitol politicians that they can’t have everything they want — or even think they need."

It’s a sound message not just for the politicians but also for the California public.

The state’s credit card is about maxed out, the veteran Democratic warns. Payments on bond borrowing are becoming uncomfortably high, crowding out funds for universities, health care, parks — and all the other government services being slashed these days.

Or, as Assembly budget chairwoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, told a committee hearing Monday, bond payments are “the Pac-Man eating up the general fund” — the state’s main checking account that again is running a deficit. The latest projection is a $21 billion hole for the next 18 months.

Lockyer’s lecture has broad implications for rebuilding California’s crumbling infrastructure.

One example: It could give many voters pause about an $11.1 billion water bond issue that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature recently placed on November’s ballot — especially if the politicians don’t strip out the pork, such as bike trails and “watershed education centers.”

Some of the bond’s goodies “seem only remotely water-related,” notes Lockyer, who hasn’t taken a position on the measure.

But the treasurer’s biggest concern about the water bond is that much of it would be financed by taxpayers. He would rather that more of it be paid off by water users through higher fees, as the original state water project was financed. Then the bond wouldn’t be gnawing away so much at the general fund.

Should California tax college tuition? - College Life OC : The Orange County Register

Should California tax college tuition? - College Life OC : The Orange County Register:

"There’s an uproar going on in Pittsburgh, where the city council is considering whether to assess a one percent tax on the tuition paid by students who attend college in that city. The idea was proposed by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who says the $16 million or so the tax would raise could help underwrite the pensions of city employees who’ve retired. Local college students, and their parents hate the idea."

But is this the sort of levy that could — or should — be assessed in California, where the state budget deficit exceeds $21 billion, partly because of the need to pay retirement benefits of government workers? We put the question to you in a the poll below. We’re also interested in your comments.

A giant of California history returns to Sacramento -- latimes.com

A giant of California history returns to Sacramento -- latimes.com:

"Thomas Starr King was not a big man, standing just 5 feet 2 and weighing about 120 pounds. But his admirers say the 19th-century Unitarian minister and California transplant left an outsize legacy in his adopted state.

King, whose eloquent oratory is often credited with having helped keep California in the Union during the Civil War, was later honored in bronze as one of the state's two representatives in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall. The state's other representative there is Father Junipero Serra, the founder of California's missions.

But in June, King lost his place in the hall when his statue was removed, replaced by a likeness of a better-known Californian, President Reagan."

New Programs Aim to Lure Young Into Digital Jobs - NYTimes.com

New Programs Aim to Lure Young Into Digital Jobs - NYTimes.com:

"“I was constantly being called a geek or a nerd,” he recalled, chuckling.

Dr. Halamka grew up to be something of a cool nerd, with a career that combines his deep interests in medicine and computing, and downtime that involves rock climbing and kayaking.

Now 47, Dr. Halamka is the chief information officer at the Harvard Medical School, a practicing emergency-ward physician and an adviser to the Obama administration on electronic health records.

Hybrid careers like Dr. Halamka’s that combine computing with other fields will increasingly be the new American jobs of the future, labor experts say. In other words, the nation’s economy is going to need more cool nerds. But not enough young people are embracing computing — often because they are leery of being branded nerds."

Reports show California schools skimping on breakfast - Times-Standard Online

Reports show California schools skimping on breakfast - Times-Standard Online:

"Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but many students in California schools aren't getting their fill, according to a recent report.

California ranked 33rd for low-income student participation in school breakfast programs for this school year, with more than 1 million qualifying children not eating the early meal, according to reports from the Food Research and Action Center, a Washington-based group. The state also dropped five ratings to 40th in terms of the number of schools offering the program, but most schools in Humboldt County do offer breakfast to their students to help start the day, said Linda Prescott, dietitian for Humboldt County Office of Education.

”Breakfast plays a really important role in that so they can be alert and pay attention,” she said."

Arne Duncan’s Two-by-Four: Is It Big Enough? | California Progress Report

Arne Duncan’s Two-by-Four: Is It Big Enough? | California Progress Report:

"There was a lot of scolding these last two weeks, both from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and much of the California press, about the state Assembly’s rejection of SB 5X 1, the Senate’s bi-partisan bill to conform California education policies to the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top school reform program.

This is not a tempest in a teapot. It reflects fundamental disagreements, some philosophical, some political, some mere turf fights, over the future of the state’s K-12 schools. Either the Senate bill, by Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, or the Assembly substitute by Julia Brownley of Woodland Hills, also a Democrat, which the governor threatened to veto, would have been likely to produce significant changes in the state’s school standards, in its testing program, in school transfer rules and parental rights, and in the reconstitution of failing schools."

Cal Poly president meets with local legislators - DailyBulletin.com

Cal Poly president meets with local legislators - DailyBulletin.com:

"POMONA - For the past year, students, faculty and staff at California's public universities have protested massive budget cuts, but most of their demands have fallen upon deaf ears.
But at Cal Poly Pomona, where a 21 percent budget reduction is threatening dozens of programs and departments, the school president is meeting with legislators to drum up support for higher education.

Cal Poly Pomona President J. Michael Ortiz spent time this month with local legislators to try to persuade them to become 'champions' for higher education. He also invited the campus community to join him.

'No one is really coming out in strong support of higher education,' Ortiz said. 'We would like legislators from this region to say higher education has already suffered enough, and we cannot continue to cut higher education and expect the state to come out of this economic downturn.'"

Parental power | Editorials | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Parental power | Editorials | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California:

"The political fight over a pot of federal school funding illustrates the Legislature's halfhearted interest in education reform: The dispute turns on whether parents should have an alternative to keeping their children in substandard schools.

There should be no debate. The Legislature should approve changes to state law that give parents tools to spur school improvements. That approach offers the promise of better education and greater accountability for school districts.

The state wants a share of the $4.3 billion in federal 'Race to the Top' school money. The program requires California to alter state law to match the federal criteria for collecting the money, but the legislation to make the revisions has become a battleground. And the disagreement is more about who controls the schools and the funding that comes with students than it is about the best way to improve education."

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: FYI - Washington Times

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: FYI - Washington Times:

"The D.C. schools chief and the mayor of Sacramento have more in common than being engaged to each other.

Standing up for school choice

Michelle A. Rhee and Kevin Johnson now share ties with the Broad family, whose coast-to-coast philanthropic efforts are rooted in education. Mrs. Rhee is a member of the board of the Broad Center for the Management of School Systems, and Mr. Johnson last week announced a new partnership with the Broad Foundation, which supports charter schools.

The foundation is providing $500,000 in seed money for Stand Up for Sacramento Schools, a nonprofit charged with raising academic achievement and college-completion rates. The initiative will focus on five key areas -- accountability, parent engagement, human capital, school choice and external resources."

Actor Glover, ex-King Jackson hand out Christmas turkeys - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Actor Glover, ex-King Jackson hand out Christmas turkeys - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"Kim George, 40, and her son Tyriq George, 12, of south Sacramento were first in line Sunday. The single mother and her son walked away with a frozen turkey and a bag containing stuffing mix, cans of vegetables and cranberry sauce.

George said she had been laid off in June by the Sacramento City Unified School District, where she worked as a clerk. 'We're just needing a lot of help right now,' she said. 'This will save me from having to find Christmas dinner.'

Sitting on a bench outside the mall, Sharia Bishop was all smiles after meeting Jackson, who retired in October, and getting a bird with all the trimmings.

'He actually handed me the turkey,' Bishop said."

Culture & Society Articles | Miller-McCune Research Essay — Handwriting Is History | Miller-McCune Online Magazine

Culture & Society Articles | Miller-McCune Research Essay — Handwriting Is History | Miller-McCune Online Magazine:

"Writing words by hand is a technology that's just too slow for our times, and our minds."

At 11 p.m. on Dec. 27, I checked my inbox out of habit. I had 581 new e-mails. All had been sent between 8 and 11 p.m. The days between Christmas and New Year's are not usually a busy time for e-mailing. What was going on?

It turns out that the home page for msn.com had linked to a short article I had published a year earlier. In the article, I argue that we should stop teaching cursive in primary schools and provide some background on the history of handwriting to back up my claims.

The comments on my piece were hostile, insulting and vehemently opposed to my argument. The onslaught continued for a few more days: Some 2,000 comments were submitted, and editors took down about 700 of the worst. If you check this article online today, you will find more than 1,300 comments. For some reason, people are very invested in handwriting.

If we define writing as a system of marks to record information (and discount petroglyphs, say), handwriting has been around for just 6,000 of humanity's some 200,000 years. Its effects have been enormous, of course: It alters the brain, 

Kevin Carey for Democracy: A Journal of Ideas

Kevin Carey for Democracy: A Journal of Ideas:

That Old College Lie

by Kevin Carey

"Claiborne Pell died at age 90 on January 1, 2009. In the weeks that followed, the former Democratic senator from Rhode Island was lauded for his many achievements, but one stood out: The first sentence of Pell’s obituary in The New York Times cited 'the college grant program that bears his name.' Pell Grants are the quintessential progressive policy, dedicated to helping low-income students cross into the promised land of opportunity and higher education. 'That is a legacy,' said Joe Biden, 'that will live on for generations to come.'

What the encomiums to Pell failed to mention is that his grants have been, in all the ways that matter most, a failure. As any parent can tell you, colleges are increasingly unaffordable. Students are borrowing at record levels and loan default rates are rising. More and more"

Winter Solstice 2009: Today is the Celebration of Winter Solstice Traditions | Daily World Buzz

Winter Solstice 2009: Today is the Celebration of Winter Solstice Traditions | Daily World Buzz

Today is the Celebration of Winter Solstice Traditions – Monday, December 21, 2009 marks the Winter Solstice traditions, and this is the announcement of the official start of the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter Solstice is also known as Yule.

More precisely, winter solstice will take place at 12:47 pm EST (1747 GMT) on Dec. 21. It is a date that will also mark the shortest day and longest night.

Winter solstice falls every year around Dec. 21. It is because of the earth’s axial tilt, which is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. At this time of the year, the sun is closer to the horizon, thus giving out least amount of daylight therefore shortening the day and lengthening the night.

But there is a bright side to it. Starting Tuesday, the days will start getting longer, leading to summer solstice, which in 2010 will fall on June 21. At that time, the day will be the longest with the daytime lasting for about 15 hours compared to 9 hours on Monday.

Now, what are the traditional celebrations during the Winter Solstice? 
Throughout the history, solstices have been accompanied with the countless cultural and religious traditions.

Our ancestors lived in a world where everyone believed in mystery and magic. Every year, they gathered together to celebrate the seemingly miraculous return of the light after the longest night of the year and that’s how Winter Solstice festivals were born. To this day, people all over the world celebrate Winter Solstice as a time of rebirth, a new beginning and a chance to marvel at the power of transition from darkness into light.
Source: Winter Solstice 2009: Today is the Celebration of Winter Solstice Traditions | Daily World Buzz http://www.dailyworldbuzz.com/winter-solstice-2009-today-is-the-celebration-of-winter-solstice-traditions/7748/#ixzz0aHH0IkTD
Via: Daily World Buzz

Giving to Our Kids: What Little House on the Prairie Taught Me about Christmas |

Giving to Our Kids: What Little House on the Prairie Taught Me about Christmas

"We creatively work to give our children good holiday memories, sometimes calling in favors, maybe working an extra job, trading our time for someone else’s talents, blatantly robbing Peter to pay Paul and making New Year’s resolutions all about balancing the checkbook and learning to simplify.

For now, we will live in the moment and try to buy some time for our children so they can remain innocent and unaware of the grown up stuff, all the unforeseen challenges that they will have to deal with all too soon.

Moms and Dads shelter them for a little while longer, taking seriously the job of protecting the wonder of the season, this granting of tangible wishes,  this material miracle-making, hoping to never be asked to put in a pretty box the things parents cannot procure in a midnight run to Walmart."

Annita Woz is the mother of three, writer and Parent Blogger for Empowering Parents.

This Week In Education: Millot: Legal But Questionable Stategies to Control Charter Boards

This Week In Education: Millot: Legal But Questionable Stategies to Control Charter Boards
Millot: Legal But Questionable Stategies to Control Charter Boards

Sometimes you can protect yourself from board members that you chose, by getting undated letters of resignation from the start that can be acted on by us at any time.... Probably the most important concept that needs to be grasped by potential and sitting board members for our new schools going forward is that Imagine owns the school, not just the building.

Denis Bakke, President, to Imagine Schools developers, directors and principals (Sep. 4, 2008)
The slippery slope towards a captive charter school board begins with two moves entirely within the law. The first is to recruit and develop boards rather than approach ones that arise independently from their communities. The second involves facility financing.

It should be obvious that a board recruited and developed by an MO employee is a very different negotiating partner than one sparked by a group of committed citizens or a local nonprofit service organization. It certainly reduces the MO's client acquisition costs. It may be noteworthy that Alternative Public Schools (APS), the predecessor of the "Beacon" in Chancellor Beacon Academies - the EMO Bakke bought in 2004 for CMO Imagine - pioneered the practice.

Murrieta schools explore ways to involve parents | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Murrieta schools explore ways to involve parents | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California:

"School officials in Murrieta are turning to parents to help boost student achievement.

The school board recently adopted a policy requiring that schools have a policy outlining parent communication plans, setting academic goals parents can assist their students with and establishing a welcoming environment on campus.

The policy is designed to ensure that schools offer meaningful opportunities for parents to be involved in their child's education, said Char Gollogly, director of curriculum and instruction for the Murrieta Valley Unified School District."

Doughnuts a sticky issue in school labor dispute -- latimes.com

Doughnuts a sticky issue in school labor dispute -- latimes.com:

"Doughnuts a sticky issue in school labor dispute

Teachers upset over having a student nutrition break on 'minimum' days serve Krispy Kremes to kids in the Centinela Valley district. The superintendent says making youths 'pawns' is 'unconscionable.'"

Lawndale teachers protesting a dispute with the Centinela Valley Union High School District distributed doughnuts to students during their nutrition period Friday morning so the children would not eat free snacks provided by the district.

Acknowledging that the sugar-filled treats are not nutritious, Centinela Valley Secondary Teachers Assn. President Erik Carlstone noted that Friday was the last day of school before winter break.

"Students deserve a treat," he said.

District officials denounced the teachers' tactics.

"It's unconscionable for them to use the students as pawns," said Supt. Jose Fernandez, who added that the Krispy Kreme doughnuts distributed are full of sugar and fat, and go against district efforts to combat obesity in young people.

The union is protesting a disagreement with the district about minimum days, shortened school days that are typically scheduled at the end of a semester or before a vacation, such as Friday, when school ended shortly after 1 p.m.

Carlstone said that during contract negotiations last year, the union agreed to one 20-minute lunch period on minimum days, and no 15-minute nutrition, or snack, period.

But Fernandez said that the contract is silent about the matter, and that it's critically 

Colleges use meditation to cut rising stress among students - washingtonpost.com

Colleges use meditation to cut rising stress among students - washingtonpost.com:

"Amid the stress-inducing madness of finals, two Georgetown University seniors kick off their shoes and settle into wooden chairs. A soft gong fills the room. They close their eyes and clear their minds of everything but a four-syllable mantra.

The session, held in a tiny brick building nestled between dormitories, is part of a movement to provide college students more opportunities to relax and reflect through meditation. A study of D.C. college students published this month found the benefits can include lower blood pressure and reduced anxiety and depression."

Arbitrator issues pay proposals for Calvert teachers - washingtonpost.com

Arbitrator issues pay proposals for Calvert teachers - washingtonpost.com:

"An arbitrator recently released recommendations to help end an impasse over the current school year's contract between the Calvert County Board of Education and the teachers union.

At issue are the terms of the third year of the teachers' three-year contract. The board suggests a 0.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment, but the Calvert Education Association wants a 4.5 percent increase.

M. David Vaughn of the American Arbitration Association met with a member of the board and the union and recommended that the teachers receive a one-time payment of 1 percent of salary and that a sick leave bank be established."

Chester superintendent is candidate for Milwaukee post | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/19/2009

Chester superintendent is candidate for Milwaukee post | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/19/2009:

"Gregory Thornton, superintendent of Delaware County's Chester Upland School District and a former top official in the Philadelphia district, is one of three finalists for the top job in the Milwaukee school district.

Milwaukee Public Schools, the nation's 27th largest district, with 82,450 students, expects to name the new head by Feb. 1, said spokeswoman Lynne Sobczak.

Thornton, 54, is a product of the Philadelphia school system; he graduated from Overbrook High School, as well as Temple University. He came back to the Philadelphia district as its chief academic officer in 2004 after serving as a deputy superintendent in Montgomery County, Md."